{"id":56656,"date":"2018-11-28t12:00:47","date_gmt":"2018-11-28t17:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=56656"},"modified":"2022-01-10t13:51:25","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10t18:51:25","slug":"the-why-what-and-how-of-cybersecurity-for-accountants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2018\/11\/28\/the-why-what-and-how-of-cybersecurity-for-accountants\/","title":{"rendered":"the why, what and how of\u00a0cybersecurity for accountants"},"content":{"rendered":"
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lush<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

checklist: protect your firm in 10 steps.<\/strong><\/p>\n

by hitendra r. patil and jeffrey lush<\/em><\/p>\n

jeffrey lush is \u00a0ceo and co-founder, bap solution,<\/a>\u00a0a cybersecurity firm lush is known widely as a passionate technologist with more than 34 years of it experience. before serving as ceo for bap, he worked as the cto for both hpe and dell federal. lush\u2019s us federal experience includes serving as the executive chief technology officer for the us department of veterans affairs. he has served on us presidential workgroups focused on cyber and has extensive knowledge of cybersecurity standards and policies throughout the globe, with a focus on us federal policies to include nist, fisma, fedramp, dfars, pci, and hipaa.<\/em><\/p>\n

it is no secret that cybersecurity continues to top the list of business concerns for businesses of all sizes. small independent business, mid-size business and large organizations can all be impacted by a cyber attack.<\/p>\n

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why accountants need to recognize cybersecurity as a daily \u201cto-do\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

the ponemon institute, the well-respected creators of the \u201ccost of a data-breach\u201d annual report, says that the biggest threat is that cyber threats keep evolving. if it teams don\u2019t know what to expect, how are accounting professionals supposed to help cyber threats? in addition to a possible business impact, many organizations that touch personal identifiable information or other sensitive data are often subject to government regulations. failure to comply is costly and embarrassing.<\/p>\n

it is even more critical for accountants and accounting firms, simply because it is not just your own data and information that you want to protect from cyber threats but because you manage your data and information of your clients \u2013 and possibly of their employees, their vendors, their customers, etc. therefore, for hackers, your firm can be that \u201cmaster-key\u201d that can open many doors.<\/p>\n

the first and fundamental preventive measure you can take to protecting critical data, reducing the risk of a cyber attack, and complying with federal mandates is to start thinking about security and to begin today with tested steps. many of the steps may feel simple, but the improvement in security is substantial.<\/p>\n

what is cybersecurity<\/strong><\/p>\n

first, let\u2019s recap what we mean by cybersecurity. cybersecurity is a blanket term that encompasses a number of different ways to protect from the attack vectors that a hacker can utilize to access proprietary information. their typical goal is to acquire sensitive data to sell on the dark web for profit. your data has big value. let\u2019s review some of the most common types of attacks.<\/p>\n